Hailing from deepest France, via everywhere and nowhere, Vialka are a devilishly high-spirited nomadic duo whose frontier-touring has taken them to all corners of the globe on a seemingly permanent world tour since their formation in 2002. Deriving their influences from traditional and modern underground music from around the globe Marylise Frecheville (percussion & voice ) and Eric Boros (baritone-guitar & voice) create music that skips joyfully across borders, channelling desert blues, Chinese folk songs, scatter rock and European gypsy song dynamics. A whirlwind dervish energy, that combines endless gypsy punk folk rock tales, hard hitting poly-rhythms, yelps and howls into one feverishly danceable and intoxicating brew. Like 'A Hawk And A Hacksaw' or 'The Ex' their openness to new sounds and cultures makes you feel alive.

The album's eight new tracks feature a frenetic interaction between Marylise's syncopated drumming and singing and Eric's orchestral guitar playing, delivered with ecstatic energy, humour, lust for life, and a sophisticated musical language and subliminal connection all their own. It also includes a charming rendition of the old German folk song 'Hole in the Bucket', their take on a traditional Shona mbira piece as well as collaborations with Francois Marcziniak and Cyrielle Faure (tuba and flute), Crank Sturgeon (sonic gesticulations), Andrew Dymond (mbira), and Xiao He (vocals and Hunan pipa). Recorded by Bob Drake at Studio Midi-Pyrnes in December 2008 and January 2009, and delightfully packaged in cardboard gatefold slips adorned with cover art by Rachel Lowther and photos by Wenxi Xiong. (Dual Plover)